Christina Aivadyan

Christina Aivadyan’s research interests: social determinants of health, HIV/STI and substance use prevention and intervention, sexual and reproductive health, adolescence and young adulthood

Christina is a predoctoral fellow in the NIH T32 training program in HIV, substance abuse, and criminal justice. Her research focuses on the on the social determinants of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and substance use among adolescents and young adults in the United States. Christina’s recent work has examined whether the relationship between substance use and sexual risk behavior among Black men who have sex with men at disproportionate risk for HIV varies as a function of age and the ways in which state-level structural factors affect health outcomes among sexual minority youth. Prior to joining the doctoral program in 2018, Christina was a Project Director at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and has over 10 years of clinical and epidemiological research experience focused on HIV, substance use, and co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Christina holds a Master of Science degree in Social Work from Columbia University, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from New York University, and is a Licensed Master Social Worker in the state of New York.